


Requiem

by PurpleShamrock



Series: Rowvember 2020 [1]
Category: Saints Row
Genre: Angst, Boss and Johnny being vulnerable but also badass, Gen, Other, good old fashioned graveyard shootout, grieving Johnny, grieving boss, in that shogo gets what's coming to him, they get business handled
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:22:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29229165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleShamrock/pseuds/PurpleShamrock
Summary: My rendition of the mission 'Laid to rest', the shootout, the feels, everything.
Relationships: Aisha (Saints Row)/Johnny Gat, Female Boss (Saints Row)/Johnny Gat
Series: Rowvember 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2146203
Kudos: 5





	Requiem

Shea frowned and checked herself over in the mirror, her hand reaching for the bottle of vodka on the chest of drawers instinctively, her fingers closed around it and she drank deep, the Irishwoman had never been short on courage before but today she had found herself digging deep down inside to drag the last reserves out. This had been on her, she was the leader; everything was always on her-she had made peace with that when she became the head of the Saints, even if she didn't know what it would mean nine months ago.  
Nine months, she scoffed, feels like freakin' years.  
So much had happened and so much had gone so horribly wrong. But not today, things weren't allowed to be wrong today, and so she double checked herself in the mirror, fluffed the purple waves cascading down her back, and put on her war face, swigging the last of her vodka as she strode out the door, smoothing her black dress against her purple clad legs as she half bounced downstairs to be amongst her soldiers. The ones coming to pay respects were either all in black or accented the black clothing with purple, some were staying behind considering a number of reasons, space and logic being two of them; it wasn't a good idea for the Saints, or indeed any gang to all pile in one place.  
“Boss, she's here.” Pierce called as he and Shaundi made their way towards her and Shea nodded, inside, butterflies fluttered in her stomach but she retained control, blowing out a breath to calm herself. It worked; until Shea's laid her eyes on the purple tie thrown casually over Pierces shoulder, his shirt dishevelled.  
“Pierce, you're not going out like that.” she said, and Pierce looked down at himself.  
“Why?”  
“Your tie.”  
“What about it?”  
“Didn't your mama teach you how to tie a tie properly?!”  
It came out harsher than she'd meant it. Especially since she knew she'd said the wrong thing when she saw how Pierce's face fell. Not many of the Saints came from nice backgrounds, herself included, but she had a feeling her hell had been different to Pierce's.  
“No...she uh- she didn't.” he replied awkwardly, and Shea bit her lip; feeling like the worst person in the world, her arms dropped to her sides and she walked over to him, expression softening.  
“C'mere.” she said gently, she laid her hands on his shoulders and guided him to stand squarely in front of her, lifting his collar and threading the tie through. “What you do, is go across the river-” she said, flicking one of the sides over the other, “under the bridge,” she placed it under the other side, “and through the cave.” she said, threading it under the loop and pulling the knot of the newly made tie up to his neck with a smile and a gentle pat on the chest. “There, done.”  
“Thanks Boss?”  
“Anytime.” she said, and she didn't know whether Pierce was surprised by her smile, or by how gentle she had been when teaching him, maybe both. Smiling and being gentle weren't part of Shea's repertoire lately, so it was nice to know she was still capable of it.  
“Where's Gat, it's almost time.” Shaundi asked, suddenly looking around, and Shea turned to scan the area too, looking for her best friend. When he did sleep Johnny had taken to one of the upstairs rooms of Purgatory (he couldn't face up to the house anymore and who could blame him?) so Shea assumed he'd be about; however a thorough analysis of the area told her that he wasn't. “He won't wanna miss this.” Shaundi added.  
“Alright, you two get in the car, leave Gat to me.” she said and they nodded and hurried off while Shea jogged upstairs to the room Johnny had been hibernating in for the last three weeks since he escaped from the hospital. She stopped at the door, attempting to turn the handle, but Johnny had obviously locked it, with a sigh she pulled a hairgrip from her hair and began to straighten it out. “Yo man, it's me,” she called through the lilac painted wood, deciding to give him a chance to let her in before she picked the lock.  
No answer.  
“Open the door?” Again, no answer, she sighed, “Mate, you know if you don't let me in I'll find a way to get in anyway. How I do that is up to you.” she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, standing with her head bowed and hands on her hips, waiting for signs of movement from within. There was none, and annoyance surged. “Fine.” she said, and bent down to pick the lock, they had no time for this, Aisha was home and waiting to be laid to rest.  
A few seconds and the door clicked, and she opened the door, letting it swing open to reveal Johnny, and she felt her annoyance drain out of her. He was sat on the edge of the bed, hunched over and staring intently at the thing in his hands. As soon as she saw it she knew what it was, the photo Shea had taken of the three of them in what seemed a lifetime ago.  
Without a word Shea walked over to him, the air around her and within her felt heavy, and her heart ached for him. She knelt down on the floor in front of where he sat, peering into his face and reaching over to lay her hand tentatively on his. He didn't look at her, but he sighed.  
“If I go out there, see that coffin, it'll be too real.”  
“I hear that.” Shea said gently, realising that he hadn't shaved since yesterday when she left him.  
“I mean I know it don't help, but...” he shrugged, at a loss for what to say, and Shea couldn't find the words either.  
“I'm sorry.” her voice was almost a whisper, and she saw him take a deep breath again before exhaling slowly, he finally turned to look at her, confusion pulling his eyebrows down.  
“Why are you sorry?” he asked and Shea swallowed the lump in her throat as she wondered how much she could tell him, she was sorry Aisha died, she was sorry he had to deal with this, she was sorry for feeling annoyed with him when he obviously had enough to deal with, she was sorry he hadn't put his faith in someone better and she was sorry she kept getting people she loved hurt. Shea opened and closed her mouth a few times before she settled for keeping quiet, she didn't want to offload her burdens on him. Not today.  
“This shouldn't have-.” she replied, losing his gaze as her voice cracked and her eyes burned, he nodded solemnly, apparently knowing what she was going to say anyway.  
“Yeah.” It was a short 'yeah', and one that cut her down to the bone with how quiet it was, she was used to the cocky little shit with the smirk and more swagger than if Bruce Lee and James Dean had a love child. He had been her mentor, the guy that had taught her to shoot straight and she couldn't help but feel that if roles were reversed, and Shea was going through the worst days of her life, he would know what to say, he would know what to do, and Shea just felt utterly lost.  


She felt a tear break free of her waterline and roll off her cheek and in her head it sounded like it crashed onto the back of her hand, and then the rest of her stoicism crumbled and she rushed upwards and pulled him into a hug, trying to turn all the nervous energy from what she wanted to say into helpful action. She had no idea if it translated well but he hugged her back regardless, and she used the opportunity to wipe her tears away.  
“Whenever you're ready.” she whispered, and she felt him nod somewhere amongst her hair before patting her awkwardly on the back in an attempt at 'normal'.  
“Get outta here, go on, gonna get people talkin'.” he chuckled as they pulled away, but even that sounded hollow. He stood up, placing the photo on the bed as he did so and disappeared into the en suite bathroom, where running water could be heard.  


Shea stood too, picking up the cool metal frame in one hand and tracing across the photo with the fingers of the other, hovering over the smiles and the bright eyes and the cheeks that age and stress hadn't melted away yet. Their stupid happy babyfaces didn't have a clue what was in store for them. She jabbed the glass above her past self vindictively, _It's your fault _, she seethed. It was her causing all the destruction and the God above took her friends? The venomous prick. If these last few months were penance for her sins, he was targeting the wrong fucking people.  
“Did you just...poke yourself in the eye?”  
Shea jumped and quickly put the photo down before straightening up with her hands behind her back,  
“Nope.” she lied quickly, a freshly shaven Johnny raised an eyebrow before walking back into the bathroom, patting his face down with a towel. She waited until he couldn't see her, then checked over herself in the mirror, obsessively flattening the baby hairs on top of her head, pulling at the creases in her dress, at her tights, at her face, everywhere she could reach. This wasn't good enough, she had to be perfect. Why wouldn't her hair stay down? Why did the creases come back?  
_“Just because me and daddy fight, it doesn't mean that you can go out looking scruffy; appearance is everything Shea, we can fool the world if we just look perfect.” _  
____

___Her mother was right, how could anyone believe she was OK if she looked like this? She started pulling at her hair, feeling the urge to pull it out until a larger hand covered the one at her head, gentle, but enough to halt her movements.  
“Will you stop that?! You look fine.” Johnny snapped, and her eyes met his in the mirror, she felt her cheeks burn and she relaxed her hand and let it drop to her side.  
“I just want everything to go right, that's all.”  
_ _ _

___Without a word, Johnny pressed a kiss to the top of her head and, keeping his hand in place, guided her out of the room, pushing her ahead of him to cut a path through the Saints. They always parted like the red sea when faced with her, she knew he knew that. He drew amusement from it most days but today it was a necessity to get from the room to the lift with as few people to talk to them as was possible.  
_ _ _

___They watched them pass through like mannequins, silent and unmoving, and Shea found it a little creepy; usually there were people drinking and strippers and noise, but there was just...nothing. It was unnatural and made her want to hurry back to her room for that bottle of vodka she'd left.  
_ _ _

___Maybe it was because luck had not been on their side recently, creating a more subdued atmosphere Shea had forgotten could exist with the Saints, between Carlos and Aisha dying, Johnny in an induced coma while the doctors worked on him, and Shaundi being kidnapped, it was really no surprise. Shea was not Julius, and that was painfully obvious with how many of her nearest and dearest were getting hurt, even the victories Shea had been handed in the last few weeks or so, even they tasted like ash in her mouth. There was a lot yet to do before the city was theirs again and the road was way longer than she had thought it'd be.  
_ _ _

___The lift bell sounded and the doors slid open to reveal the sleek black hearse carrying Eesh's coffin, adorned by muticoloured roses, red, white and yellow, Shea's blood ran cold and she made the sign of the cross upon her person without thinking, then catching herself after the fact, glared at her traitorous hand before opening the car's back doors and sliding into the leather backseat. Johnny had already gotten in, which caught her by surprise since she had no idea he had moved past her. His head rested on his hand as he gazed lazily at the tinted outside.  
“I guess there are some things you didn't leave back on Leprecaun island huh?” he said, and she fought and won against the urge to shift nervously in her seat.  
“I guess so.” she replied, feigning a cheery tone, and there was something in that that Johnny found mildly amusing, possibly his nickname of 'Leprecaun Island' for her homeland.  
“Still believe in an afterlife?” he asked quietly, and Shea felt herself burn hot with the awkwardness brought on by his question.  
“Y-yeah of course.” she said, mentally kicking herself for the stammer at the beginning, he'd have picked up on that. “I mean, she's in a better place-definitely.”she added hurriedly, and his brow furrowed for a few moments before he gave a single nod of his head, and Shea turned to look out of the window at Stilwater outside. It was beginning to rain now, but whether it would finally dispel the sweltering humidity in the air she had no clue, she watched Stilwater's citizens pre-emptively rush for cover as the light rain could turn monsoon-like at a moment's notice, and had done earlier in the week.  
_ _ _

___Mourningwoods Cemetery loomed into view and the horrible feeling Shea felt weighing on her shoulders and forcing her heart in her throat intensified, when Johnny suddenly got out of the car Shea was pretty convinced it was something to do with her despite been given no evidence towards that thought. Fighting the urge to be sick and wondering if she was cracking up she opened the door and stepped out, waving away a Saint that offered to hold an umbrella over her head.  
The funeral itself was a blur, one moment Shea was shoulder to shoulder with Johnny bearing the coffin with Aisha's sister just behind, and the next she was staring at his back, scared that if she took her eyes off him, he wouldn't be there anymore.  
_ _ _

___She had taken some dirt from the graveside as Aisha was lowered gently down, and waited for it to stop before throwing the handful of dirt onto the white coffin. Ashes to ashes, return to the earth from whence you came and all that jazz, she embellished on the verses she'd learned in her youth and laid a hand on Johnny's shoulder as she passed him. That's when she heard it.  
Engines. Bike engines specifically, and the hand gripped firmer as she realised with a growing rage what it was. The Ronin were coming here. Now. And Shea had no weapons; most of the Saints present had no weapons on them. Not a lot of them took guns because it was a fucking funeral.  
“Johnny-” Shea said, her head whipping round. And she felt the muscles in his arm tighten as he clenched his fists.  
“I know...” he growled, and stepped forward to throw flowers into the grave, stepping back just as the Ronin approached. His eyes fixed on her coffin but the fury he was feeling was almost palpable, coming off of him in some kind of wave.  
What Shea gathered was Shogo Akuji was leading them, she had only seen the twenty something from pictures beforehand, and he seemed smaller in person; but there was a look in his eyes that stopped her from laughing at him. He might look like a bitch of a kid, but he was ruthless, she could see it.  
She glanced at Pierce and Shaundi, saw their faces pale and worried.  
“You two have humiliated my family for the last time!” Shogo snarled, pointing at her and Johnny, and Shea stepped forward so she was level with Johnny and in front of Shaundi and Pierce, hoping her face was showing exactly what she was feeling inside.  
“Leave little boy.” Johnny said calmly, staring at Aisha's coffin and Shea was impressed; she would not have that level of discipline over her voice if she spoke.  
“Look at me when I'm talking to you!” he yelled back at him, and the laugh Shea had held back bubbled out of her throat. She was in shock, one, that he was attacking them at a funeral, and two, how fucking entitled this kid sounded. This was going to go south, she could feel it in her bones as sure as the rain had soaked her through to them, as her hair dripped into her face. She gestured behind her back for the Saints to get ready to retreat, hoping they were paying attention.  
“Fuck off Akuji.” came Johnny's reply, and Shea had to agree. “I'm not killin' anyone at Eesh's funeral. Tonight....tomorrow, you name a time and I'll gladly fuck you up; but not now.”  
“How _noble _.” Shogo smirked, and took his sub machine gun off of safety, and other Ronin copied him. “Nobility is sorely overrated.” he said and opened fire on them.  
Shea and Johnny had hit the nearest cover instinctively, but she had no idea about the rest of the Saints. She looked back and saw most had done the same, where others stared at her glassy eyed and lifeless, and her heart dropped through her stomach.  
_Killed in a fucking graveyard? _  
_____ _ _

___Her ears rang and her eyes scrunched up at the deafening sounds of the bullets hitting the tombstones, shards flying off here and there. All around, purple clad bodies fell along with civilians and Shea knew that they had to go or they'd all be massacred.  
“Saints! To the cars! We are fucking leaving!” Shea screamed, and Johnny's head whipped round to glare at her.  
“What?!”  
“We gotta go.” Shea said firmly, and Johnny shook his head.  
“Nah, I aint leavin', I ain't lettin' this slide.” he snarled and made to run out from cover, and Shea seized the back of his suit and hauled him back.  
“Are you fucking kidding me?! Johnny, our people are dying, look around!” she pleaded, pushing her hair out of her eyes so she could look into Johnny's. He glanced around, looking shocked for a moment before his head bowed. “Johnny.” Shea said, turning his head to face her, “We stay here, we die.”  
“Then you fuck off.” he spat.  
“Er, excuse you!” Shea shot back, “the fuck you think you’re talking to?!”  
“You said it yourself, you stay here, you die.” he shrugged, and she rolled her eyes.  
“I’m not your fucking enemy so can you stop fucking fighting me please?”  
“Boss!” Pierce yelled out to Shea, “Boss! We can't move, it's too hot!”  
“Get your crew outta here.” Johnny growled before he got to his feet, and Shea made a swipe for him again but missed, and the ensuing gunfire had her pulling her hand back as though she had just been scalded.  
“God damn it Johnny!” she screamed, hoping he heard her over the guns.  
_ _ _

___Shea closed her eyes and let her head drop back against the stone with a thunk, she heard footsteps squelching towards her in the mud and she knew there was only one thing for it; she couldn't wait for them to reach her cover and pick the remaining Saints off one by one. If she was going to die in a fucking graveyard, she was going to die fighting. She was going to die protecting her family. She was going to die dragging Johnny’s fucking arse out of the proverbial fire.  
_ _ _

___As the Ronin were upon them, Shea struck out with her leg, catching the Ronin in the face and sending him crashing down under her boot. Combat was heard behind her, heard Johnny's scuffle with his Ronin before a shot rang out. And for a heartstopping second she thought he'd been shot, she snapped the Ronin's neck and whirled round with a new gun in hand, ready to kill. But only saw Johnny tearing off into the middle of the Ronin intent on killing him.  
“Just let me bury her!”  
“Johnny!” she screamed, attempting to follow, but the hail of bullets sent her way forced her back behind cover. “Johnny!” she bellowed, inhaling stone chipping and she coughed great hacking coughs. “Johnny god damn it!” she seethed, punching the stone behind her. Saw the remaining Saints staring blankly at her. “Go! Grab anyone alive and go.” she told them, “Fucking go!”  
“This is suicide!” Shaundi's voice scolded, as Shea peeked out from the tombstone to cover Johnny's back and the other Saints' escape, shooting down some of the more troublesome of the Ronin.  
“Just go!” she screamed again as bullets forced her to take cover once more, saw Pierce shaking his head.  
“No Boss, nobody gets left behind!” he yelled back, and Shea frowned and poked her head out to shoot a couple more, enough so the group could retreat safely; Johnny had drawn their attention, it was both reckless and effective, but something about the action didn't sit well with her, sent chills down her spine. If she left him now, he'd get himself killed for sure. He wanted Akuji dead, she knew and she understood, but so much was happening at once and there were too many people to worry about here, too many variables and it made her head spin.  
“Pierce! Shaundi! Please!” she pleaded with a lieutenant of hers for the second time that night, and she didn't want to make a habit of it, but this was important. If she and Johnny fell today she had to be sure the Saints would continue. Nine months ago she wouldn't have trusted them to lead the group, and in some ways she was still unsure, but she was confident that they would at least be avenged by those left.  
“You heard the Boss!” Pierce finally bellowed, “Round up survivors, civilian or Saint and head to the cars! We're outta here!”  
“Boss, for the record, we don't like this!” Shaundi added, and Shea dipped back to reload, looking up at her as she did so.  
“Noted.” she replied, popping the clip into place and cocking the gun. She caught Shaundi's gaze and nodded, ducking out from cover, this time to gain ground and force the yellow clad bastards back, simultaneously covering escapes while she was at it. The screech of several tires speeding away from danger music to her ears as she fired lead into the chests and heads of any Ronin leaving themselves open.  
_ _ _

___The combined efforts of she and Johnny were finally making a dent in the Ronin ranks, their onslaught was forcing them backwards, and somewhere across the graves, Shogo Akuji's face paled with shock.  
He promptly turned tail and ran.  
“He's heading to the caretakers house!” Johnny snarled, and both of them forced on an extra burst of speed as they sprinted towards the house with bullets whizzing past their heads. She glanced at Johnny, saw him expertly pulling off headshots as usual and smiled, when it came to killing and guns, that man was a fucking artist; he just wasn't watching his back, she frowned as she shot down the woman aiming for him. He turned, his face shocked, and she nodded and smirked, feeling cocky. He grinned and nodded back before he turned his attention to another group of Ronin, and Shea turned hers to another.  
“Hey Gat!” she heard someone bellow, and she stepped back from kicking a Ronin in the kidney before she searched for the source, “I heard her head was being sold on Tbay, Did you buy it back? How much did it go for?”  
_ _ _

___It was a scrawny little Ronin cunt across the graveyard, smirking as Johnny stalked towards him, he danced away, and it was then, from her angle that she realised what they were doing. They were trying to lead him into a trap, They were trying to isolate him from her completely.  
_ _ _

___Rain beat down on her face as she raised her gun and fired two shots into the ground ahead of where Johnny was moving, saw him skid to a halt and look over at her in confusion before she aimed across at the few Ronin hidden from Johnny’s view, taking them out and preventing their plan from happening.  
Then a white light burst in front of her eyes and when she came to she was on all fours, looking at the back of her bloody hand, her fingers digging into the soft mud as the world span, her stomach lurching horribly. She thought she heard Johnny yell.  
_ _ _

___There was a pain in her ribs and she rolled, her breath stolen from her as she sprawled onto her back, and a Ronin came into view, pointing the barrel of his gun at her face, and the thought briefly floated across her mind that this was it. This was how she’d die.  
But then the Ronin’s head shattered into blood, and bone and spray, and she felt Johnny seize the front of her dress and drag her behind cover, before moving into her line of vision as he tapped the side of her cheek.  
“It’s alright Shea, you’re good, you’re good yeah?” he asked quickly, voice shaking, and she raised her hand to the one tapping her cheek and gently lowered his hand as she raised hers to the back of her head.  
“I think so?” she said, hissing when her fingers came away bloody, “What a fucking wanker.”  
_ _ _

___Six more cars full of Ronin to go, she reminded herself, noticing Johnny crawling behind cover and knowing something had gone wrong, she churned up the mud under her feet as she raced towards the cover herself, vaulting over the steps of the statue to shelter.  
Johnny was grimacing and clutching at his side with hands slick with blood, sweat beading on his brow and he, like her, was breathing heavily. It was then she noticed where in his side the blood was; and uncomfortable flashbacks worried at the back of her head. She stopped to shoot at the Ronin to halt their advance before dropping back down again.  
“You've opened the wound haven't you?” he didn't say anything, just nodded, and Shea reached over. “Here, let me look.” she said gently, only to yelp in surprise when he seized her wrist suddenly and painfully, making her drop the gun.  
“Don't touch me.” Johnny warned.  
“Johnny, I need to-”  
“-I said. Don't. Touch. Me.” he said and shoved her away. Hurt, Shea picked her gun up again and fired off a couple of shots into a Ronin that forgot to make sure their head wasn't exposed, blinking rapidly as she analysed the battleground to keep tears from falling. There was a tense silence between them (contrasted with the hell around them) before it was broken.  
“Sorry.” Johnny said gently, and she could feel his gaze boring into the side of her face.  
“It's fine, It must be painful.” she said quickly, then froze, tense and alert as she stared in the direction of the caretakers house. The garage doors were opening and a bike engine was revving from within.  
“I'm not- well I'm not just talking about this-” Johnny began, but Shea cut him off.  
“Johnny.” she said in a tone that made Johnny heave himself up and curse.  
“He's getting away.” he seethed, and Shea heard the desperation in his voice, felt it renew her rage, the anger bubbling in the deepest pit of her stomach.  
“No he's not.” she said, pressing both guns in Johnny's bloody hands, “Get my back.” she instructed and then she was off, tearing towards the house as fast as her legs would allow, hearing heavy bodies hit the floor around her. Johnny wanted a dead Akuji, he was going to get a dead Akuji, and Shea would be there to deal with the consequences that would come afterwards. He hadn't been listening to her so now he was going to have to find out the hard way. The hate would never go away if Shogo died today, but Johnny was still living in the hope that it would, just like she had not too long ago.  
_ _ _

___She kicked off one of her heels at a Ronin and he ducked it only for a bullet to make his head explode seconds later, and hopping slightly, she took the other one off, brandishing it like a weapon as Shogo's bike shot past her. With no time wasted, she hopped on another bike and raced off after the retreating Akuji.  
_ _ _

___More Ronin were on her arse and she turned, her hair whipping around her face as she opened fire and they crashed into walls, and she turned back to focus on Akuji’s escape, putting pedal to the metal and gaining ground, the wind chilling her skin but inside she was a riot, and as she got close enough to Akuji’s bike she did something very stupid, and very reckless. She leapt off her bike and into Akuji, sending them both crashing to the earth as their bikes collided and swerved off the road.  
_ _ _

___Akuji struggled, growling Japanese at her and she raised her shoe and beat him with it, the rage taking over her her until she saw red trickle from near his eyebrow, and she paused as she’d lifted her shoe in the air, looking back at him as she threw the shoe away. He was cut above his eye, his nose was bleeding, but the hatred in his eyes was real, she only hoped it was mirrored back at him. Seeing blood had made her snap out of it somewhat, and she looked at him and remembered; this wasn’t her revenge to take. She laced her fingers into his jacket and hauled him to his feet, twisting an arm behind his back as he struggled.  
As they got deeper into the cemetery and the bodies of fallen saints and Ronin came back into view, he struggled harder, and she whacked him in the back of his head when he got too rowdy.  
“Where are you taking me?” he demanded, “Let me go!”  
Again with the demands. Shea rolled her eyes as Johnny pushed off from a tombstone, uncrossing his arms with a solemn expression on his face. She looked at him then, square in the eye, before she shoved Akuji forwards.  
Straight into Johnny’s waiting fist and the Ronin leader was sent crashing down into the churned up Earth, and Shea could almost see cartoon birds chirping around his head as he lay there dazed, and Johnny circled around to his head.  
“Get up.” his tone was cold, devoid of anything and a shiver ran down her spine. She’d never heard his voice like that before, in all the years she known him, in all the times she’d seen his anger it had never been like this. Shea had always known he was dangerous, but she wasn’t used to it being slapped in her face like this, and she might have been disconcerted if she wasn’t angry too.  
_ _ _

___Shogo got up, throwing a kick but Johnny dodged, catching it before putting his elbow straight through it. The crack was audible and Shogo whimpered in agony, possibly too shocked to do anything else, and Johnny then headbutted him back to the mud before circling again.  
“Get up.”  
_ _ _

___To his credit, Shogo did get up, albeit slowly, hobbling on his one good leg and threw a punch to Johnny’s jaw, and Johnny’s head barely jerked sideways before his head snapped back to him and he threw one of his own before following up with a hard knee to the face and Shogo staggered and fell, moving away from Johnny’s silhouette as he advanced before clutching a tombstone for support.  
“Get up.” Johnny said again.  
“Please...stop.” Shogo said, and it was a pathetic, would have been pitiful if Shea had even an ounce of sympathy for the man to begin.  
“Not so fun fightin’ someone who isn’t tied to a chair, is it?”  
“I didn’t kill her!” Shogo bellowed, desperate, and Shea tilted her head to one side and wrapped her arms around herself to stop the chill creeping into her bones. It didn’t work, her blood was almost frozen solid, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she was watching a man be beaten to death, but she just didn’t have the energy to care, at least hell would be warm when she got there.  
“You ordered it.” Johnny growled, and Shea raised an eyebrow as Johnny punched Shogo straight through the tombstone Shogo had clung to, and Shogo collapsed, choking.  
“I’m sorry.” he sobbed, and she saw Johnny circle him again, like a shark sensing blood.  
“Well that brings her back doesn’t it.” he snapped, sarcasm that held no mirth, no emotion, before he reached down and grabbed Shogo by the neck of his jacket and dragged him through the mud. “You couldn’t even let her have a burial you fuckin’ piece of shit.” he threw Shogo down at the last syllable, at the side of a different coffin before throwing the corpse inside out of it, and Shogo’s face paled as he locked eyes with the lifeless ones of the corpse, both Shea and Shogo realising then what Johnny had planned and Shea went to go grab a shovel.  
“No!” he pleaded, as Johnny picked him up and threw him like a rag doll into the coffin, “please! No!”  
_ _ _

___The lid snapped shut and Johnny pressed the release button, triggering the mechanism to lower the coffin into the hole, and Shea walked back and threw him a shovel before moving back to Johnny’s side, her presence there hopefully saying what words couldn’t._  
She was definitely going to Hell, Shea knew this and had made peace with it a long time ago, but she took great satisfaction in knowing that Shogo would get there a lot faster than she would. As his screams grew quieter and quieter, and the last shovelful of dirt placed into the hole, she rested her chin on the handle of her shovel, watching Johnny pat the dirt down with the end of his then step back.  
_Say hi to Sharp for me _. She thought and spat onto the grave, letting her shovel drop and Johnny threw his down next to hers before holding an arm out. They left arm in arm but silent, the cemetery regaining that special brand of weird quiet cemeteries have.  
Tomorrow they would have to plan a lot more funerals for those fallen Saints unclaimed by family, and her heart and mind and body weighed heavy with it, but for now they had this, another gang leader down, another gang weakened. The last name was the Oyabun himself.  
Kazuo Akuji was next, and then the city was theirs at last.___ _


End file.
